Understanding Coupon Acronyms

You guys have been asking for this for awhile and here goes- part ONE of my series Welcome to Coupon World!! I know some of the acronyms and the lingo can seem crazy so hopefully this reference guide will help you navigate my posts! Trust me when I say that it gets easier and easier as you go along. If you still have questions just leave a comment below because I am sure lots of other people have the same question you do!

BOGO or B1G1: That is a Buy One Get One sale. I usually spell this out so it is clear.
You might occasionally see B1G2 which is just a Buy One Get 2 free sale and so on…
.FAR: Free after rebate! If an item is $2.99 and you can send off a rebate for $2.99 that item is FAR. We also love to combine FAR items with coupons to make a little profit (and cover the cost of the stamp!)
.SS/RP/P&G: This simply refers to my good friends the coupon inserts (which you will find in the Sunday paper). Each insert is from a different company Smart Source, Red Plum and Proctor and Gamble and they change from week to week. You can see exactly how to tell the difference HERE.
.OYNO: On Your Next Order. This is usually used in reference to a catalina coupon. Often times if you get a catalina coupon or a gift card (like at Target) you can not use it on the same transaction- you can use it OYNO.
.Catalina: I have a much longer explanation HERE but basically a catalina is a little coupon that prints at the cash register. It can be an actual coupon or it can be for a dollar amount off your next transaction. Catalina is simply the name of the company that makes these machines. You will ALWAYS want to check the catalina machine at your stores because you never know how much money you are leaving on the table by forgetting these little papers.
.Peelie: This is a coupon that is stuck to the front of an item and can be peeled off. You can see an example of a peelieHERE- see the little sticker that says Free? These are usually coupons but can also be rebates.
.Blinkie: The little machine you might see at the grocery store that spits out coupons. Grab the blinkies when you see them. They are typically available when an item is at the highest price. Just hold those blinkies for a sale!
.MQ: Manufacturer coupon.
.OOP: This is your out of pocket expense. We are always trying to reduce the OOP by using gift cards, rebates, Register Rewards, store coupons etc… The bottom line is to keep your money in your pocket!
.Rolling: This is when you use a gift card or catalina to pay for another transaction and get yet another catalina. For example, if you buy 2 boxes of cereal at Target and get a gift card for $2 back- you might want to “roll” the gift card by buying 2 more cereals- use the gift card to pay and get another gift card and on and on…
.Stockpile: This refers to whatever you are able to stock up on at dirt cheap (or free) prices so you don’t ever have to pay full retail again. You might have a stockpile of 6 boxes of cereal that you bought with coupons and a sale for .25 a box. Since you have multiple boxes you never have to pay $3 or more for cereal again since you have enough on hand to get by until the next sale.
.Stacking: This is when you use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon. For example, you can use a Target coupon for a specific item as well as a manufacturer coupon on the same item (so 2 coupons for the same product) to double your savings.
.MIR: This is a mail in rebate offer.
.TMF: A type of rebate that allows you to Try Me Free. So the manufacturer will refund your full purchase price- often times you can also use a coupon and still get reimbursed the full retail price of the item. This is different than a Money Back Guarantee as that rebate requires you to be dissatisfied with the product to get your money refunded.
.Register Rewards: The catalina program specific to Walgreens. Read more about it HERE.
.WAGS: Walgreens
.ECBs or EBs:CVS’s store program. Extracare bucks are awarded for specific items you purchase and can be used like cash on virtually anything in the store. See my CVS posts HERE and HERE.
.YMMV: I rarely use this abbreviation as it confuses people but it means Your Mileage May Vary or Your Market May Vary. Basically it refers to deals like a clearance find might be YMMV because not everyone is going to get the exact same clearance deals. It can also mean your luck with your cashier may vary- for example x is priced at $.99, use $1.50 coupon to get $.51 overage- YMMV. So basically if you get a stinker cashier they will refuse the coupon and you are out of luck. The same person can be in the next check stand and get the overage, so YMMV.

So the bottom line is what does this mean:
Kellogg’s Cereal $1.50
Use $1.50 from 8/9 SS
Final Price: FREE

That means to go look in your Smart Source coupon insert from the weekend of 8/30 and cut the coupon for Kellogg’s for $1.50 to get your free cereal.

to kris,
you can print coupons on other sites, Charlene has them listed, but yes the inserts are in the newspaper, unless you want to go to the newspaper stand every Sun, and sometimes those papers don’t carry coupons just the one you get delivered, ask a friend or family member who gets the paper to share with you

Hey I’m new to using coupons and I’m trying to get into using coupons but I just don’t understand when a coupon says save a dollar on any two boxes of cereal…does it mean that you save a dollar on both of them or save a dollar on each box. Or another example is I read a coupon for some yogurt that said save .50 on any SIX cups. Does that mean I have to purchase six to save .50 cents or do I get to save .50 cents on each yogurt cup? Lol sorry if this seems like a dumb question but I just started clipping coupons today!!;). Plz help!

Gen the first number on a coupon will be the value and the second is the quantity needed to save that value. So if you have a $1/2 coupon for example, that is one dollar off of 2 units of product. If it is cereal, you will get $1 off total when you purchase 2 boxes of cereal. If the coupon said $1/6 yogurt, you will get $1 off grand total when you purchase 6 cups of yogurt.

I am a first time couponer and it is so confusing to me. I love this blog it is so imformative. But printing coupons from the internet is just too much i cant find anything without a hassel. I am a little discouraged now but i am going to stick to it Any advice is greatly appreciated

Hello, to piggybak off Gen’s question, if i have a $1/2 coupon and my local store has the same item BOGO how many $1/2 coupons can i use? I thought i would only be able to use 1 for every 2 (purchased item + free item) however i was getting a total of 4 (buying 2 and getting 2 free) and accidently gave the cashier 4 $1/2 coupons and this how the transaction transpired…

on top of that, the cashier asked if i had the publix $1/1 coupon and although i didn’t she happily scanned one at the register 4 times giving me and another $4 off, leaving me with $2.22 towards my other groceries.

I was shocked that all 4 of my MQ’s scanned and deducted from my total as i had only meant to give her 2. and now i’m confused b/c i am not sure if the cashier messed up or if i was just missing out on additional savings this whole time. Please help clarify this for me!! Thanks

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Welcome to My Frugal Adventures! I am Charlene, a recovering Starbucks addict and proud mama of two busy little girls. I am on a constant quest to save as much as I can in some areas so I can splurge a little in others.

This blog is written for those that want to learn to stretch a dollar and still enjoy life and spend money on the things that you love!

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